Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Stock Price

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $310.00 to $390.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on LPLA. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on LPL Financial from $271.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on LPL Financial from $303.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $271.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of LPL Financial from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.17.

LPL Financial Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of LPLA opened at $330.23 on Thursday. LPL Financial has a 1 year low of $187.19 and a 1 year high of $334.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $258.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.16 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $24.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.86.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.69 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. LPL Financial had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 49.47%. LPL Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that LPL Financial will post 16.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In related news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total transaction of $101,241.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LPLA. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of LPL Financial during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in LPL Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in LPL Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of LPL Financial by 360.7% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.66% of the company’s stock.

LPL Financial Company Profile

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.